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Delhi Township Board
of Trustees / Preservation Architecture Services Team
Built in 1796 to shelter a spring that served as a rest stop and
a source of water for early travelers, the Stone Springhouse is the oldest building
in Delhi Township. The stone walls and floor, and flowing water from a natural
spring kept the interior cool. Used for more than a century, the spring supplied
fresh water as late as 1937. To restore the Springhouse for the Delhi Township
Board of Trustees, architects Bruce Goetzmann and John Schueler of Preservation
Architecture Services Team and contractor Architectural Reclamation dismantled
the walls, numbering each stone so it could be reassembled in its original position,
then built a reinforced concrete footing below as part of a new retaining wall
system. The stone floor was reset, the stone walls were reassembled, and the
roof was replaced with new wooden shingles. The old wooden plank door was repaired
and reinstalled, and stone retaining walls adjacent to the Springhouse were
rebuilt. A new stone-faced steel-reinforced concrete retaining wall was added
along Delhi Pike, and a new parking area provides three off-road spaces. Returning
the Stone Springhouse to its original condition has provided Delhi Township
with a signature entrance and has restored a source of community pride.
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